Benjamin Franklin Peay was born September 9, 1931 in Camden, SC. When Benjamin was young he enjoyed gospel music and wrote songs and in 1948 he went to New York to pursue his music career. He was a member of several gospel groups including "The Langfordairies", "The Jerusalem Stars", and "The Golden Gate Quartet". After returning to his home state he joined a R&B singing group, "the Sandmen", and soon went back to New York to try for a big break. Eventually the record company decided to drop The Sandmen and push Brook as a solo artist.

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